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Saturday, March 17, 2012

Et Tu, Planning Commission?

On March 6, citizens packed the Planning Commission (PC) and voiced their objections to the wetlands CAO draft. I have heard that some of the Friends felt the public were disrespectful, but that isn't evident from Eric Fullerton's eloquent comments.

Despite the overwhelmingly negative public comments on March 6, the Commissioners made mostly minor changes to the draft during yesterday's PC deliberations. Today, a concerned islander sent me the note below. If accurate, it speaks for itself as a sad commentary on the state of our community.

I wonder if the back-slapping, self-congratulatory crowd has ever heard of the word schadenfreude because their reported behavior would appear to be a living definition of that word.
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Hi,

At the CRC meeting today at lunch a group gathered to pat each other on the backs about getting their way on the planning commission. Lovel was all smiles standing with Bob Gamble, Barbra Thomas, Sara Osborn? (forget last name), Tom Munsey, and others. I overheard them say how nice it was that Carlson was not there.

The truth is that this is no victory. This is really a big loss for our community and the people who live here. I just got the feeling of sadness. I really believe that at the end they will not be so happy. I'm not sure why.

1 comment:

"Disrespectful" for the Friends means not agreeing with them, or more to the point here, daring to question their behind-the-scenes, pre-programmed assault on working families in the islands. Their wealthy/trust fund members want to see islands with no homes on the shoreline (except theirs); no farming, except for their adorable hobby farms; and no dissent in the ranks of taxpayers. How DARE those folks complain about not being able to feed their families? How DARE those landowners want to build a retirement home? How DARE those longtime residents want to renovate their homes, or add a guesthouse for their kids to visit? Only the Queen knows what's good for San Juan County. How dare anyone question her? How DARE anyone question why--after five years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries--we have what one retired planning and enforcement professional called "the worst regulation" he'd ever seen? Is that "disrespectful"? Are public employees who sell the citizens down the river deserving of respect? Are "scientists" who take $100,000+ from the County but produce indecisive mumbo-jumbo, who can't be bothered to read the studies they rely on, and can't seem to answer a single relevant question, worthy of respect? Are those "majority" Planning Commissioners, who heard close to 30 citizens from all walks of life explain the negative impact of these rules on our community, but proceed to do little more than fix punctuation and cackle at their inside job, worthy of respect? By respect, these folks really mean mute submission to the will of their presumed "betters." Somehow, I don't think they'll be getting it. Islanders, it turns out, are both smart and fed up.